Airport vendors must remove

Sep 18, 2008 News

Many illegal activities taking place there – Minister Benn
As part of the development plans for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), vendors in the vicinity of the airport will have to remove in order for the government to facilitate a more modern facility.
This is according to Minister of Public Works and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn, who noted that the vendors have already been informed that they need to relocate, as according to the Minister, their continued squatting on the land is not on par with the development plan for the airport.
“At the present time, that sort of squatting does not occur with the safety and security issues for an international airport,” Benn said.
He explained that the runway of the airport has to be extended from 7,500 feet to 10,000 feet, while the areas on the western side have to be expanded for future development and buildings.
“All kinds of facilities which are needed for the support of a large international airport have to be in place. We have to plan for beyond the next five years, for the next 50 or more years and so they have to work with the Ministry of Housing and Water, the Lands and Surveys Commission…and we want to work with them to have them properly and securely located,” Minister Benn said.
Benn noted that there are persons who are now living in the shops with their children. Poor sanitation is being entertained and a lot of illegal activities are taking place there. This, he said, cannot be allowed to continue.
He also referred to the recent case of criminals being killed not far from the airport, which he noted clearly indicates the problem being experienced.
He spoke about the issue of some of the portable lights being stolen from the aerodrome and of instances where persons cut through the fence and would steal fuel from the workshops.
In this regard, Benn noted that the Ministry is currently dealing with the issue in order to bring some control to the situation.
“It is not safe for somebody to be within the flight path of a large plane and to expect that they will always be safe somehow or that something may not happen or expect that the government will assume certain liabilities if they are out there and something terrible happens…We don’t want it to happen, but the area is sequestered initially for future development of a large airport,” the Minister noted.
Benn had earlier instructed that new buildings should not be constructed at the facility, since the Ministry does not want abandoned structures to be occupied by persons who turn up at the airport.
“We are unhappy that people are working beyond daylight hours and that is a situation we want to bring an end too, and so I hope that at a meeting that is soon to be held with the shop owners some order can be brought to regularize the situation.”
Minister Benn noted that he is aware that there are some genuine persons who are pursing legal livelihood in the area, but according to him, the entire situation has to be regulated and made safe.

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Airport vendors must remove

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